Explain different migration issues from IPV4 to IPV6.
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Migration from IPv4 to IPv6
Migration from IPv4 to IPv6
February 15, 2019
By: Tuan Nguyen
Downloadable PDF: Migration from IPv4 to IPv6
The current version of the Internet Protocol IPv4 originally developed in the 1970’s and officially published in 1981 (RFC 791) severed its purpose until the early 1990’s. By 1992, Internet expansion and the uptake of address space exposed limitations as to the number of actual address spaces that would be available with the increase number of devices being added to the world wide web, pushing the IPv4 standard to its threshold. As these limitations were recognized changes were initiated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in 1994 for an upgrade to IPv6 (RFC 2460). Currently IPv6 network penetration is low, however it is expected to grow, as IPv4 depletion is eminent.
As the number of interconnect computers, the cloud, use of BYODs and other devices grow dramatically, the need for change will drive service providers to make the switch. The difference between IPv4 and IPv6 is in the address format where IPv4 use 32 bit (4 bytes) address while IPv6 uses 128 bit (16 bytes). IPv6 allows for much longer address(s) so it is possible to technically overcome the IPv4 address depletion issues and include service features without rewriting the protocol.
One of the reasons for slow movement to IPv6 is the cost of migration to the new format with no immediate revenue exchange for the upgrade. However, this is short sighted as the depletion of address spaces and the advent of more internet devices, and the growth of the cloud, service providers who do not migrate are going to find it difficult to efficiently service the higher demand placed on their networks. IPv6 has built in security features, stronger flow control and easier authentication functionality. In short, IPv6 is the future and holds the promise of end-to end security, QOS and simplified management while increasing the networks capacity to service more users.
Top 10 Features that make IPv6 “greater” than IPv4
#1 – IPv6 provides a substantially larger IP address space than IPv4
Every computer or online device that needs to connect to the Internet requires a globally unique IP address. IPv4 uses 32 bits for an IP address that allows about 4 billion unique IP addresses. When IPv4 was introduced in the 1970s and accepted as the protocol for the Internet, they did not foresee this explosion in the popularity of the Internet or the extent to which online technologies would become all pervasive. It was therefore firmly believed that these 4 billion addresses would be sufficient to cover any future growth of the Internet.
IPv6 uses 128 bits for IPv6 addresses which allows for 340 billion billion billion billion (3.4×1038) unique addresses. To get an idea of the scale involved, consider the entire IPv4 space as being contained in an iPod, then the new IPv6 space would be the size of the Earth. From these numbers, it can be seen that with IPv6, it is possible to provide billions of addresses to each person and ensure that any device that has to be connected to the Internet will have a unique IP address.
The first advantage of an enhanced address space is that in the absence of NAT, there is less complexity in the network hardware and software, and configuring a network becomes much simpler. Secondly, it makes it possible to truly envisage a networked home wherein the different gadgets and appliances would be on the network which would require that each such device have a unique IP address. Finally, the large availability of IP addresses removes any obstacles that existed previously in the full deployment of wireless and mobile devices.